Wildlife Photography: What it means to me, personally!
How wildlife photography has helped me to not only feel like I have a purpose in life, but has helped me to better cope with my mental health condition — ADHD!
Let’s start with a little back story. I have always had a love for wildlife, ever since I was a little child. My mother would always teach me what she knew about wildlife, whether it be about birds or little insects we’d find hidden in the dark cracks of an old stone wall in our garden. My older brothers were always very similar, in a sense that they loved wildlife too . When I was about 7 years old, my older brother rescued an injured Magpie, called Meg, and whilst she recovered we had the pleasure of looking after her for a few months. She become like a pet to us. She would peck at the windows to be fed or to come inside at night — she would always return home, just like a domesticated cat would. She would sit on my brothers shoulder watching him play Pokémon, or she would annoy my older sister by stealing her pens whilst she was in the garden trying to get on with her college work. It was a rather precious experience, to witness a wild bird share such an intimate bond with not with not only our family , but most of our neighbour’s at the time — some nights she would peck at their windows to get some food, or to get inside. Sadly, the time came where one day she found a partner (presumably to mate with) and she didn’t return home like she usually would — though she would still check in with us, visiting our garden and pecking on our windows occasionally.
(Photo of a much younger me with Meg the Magpie — image taken from one of my families photo albums.)
As I say, I have always had a love for wildlife, but this experience just solidified that and has stuck with me ever since.
Fast forward 17 years, after many experiences with wildlife — from rescued Hedgehogs, to seeing my brother look after an orphaned Squirrel. I still have this same love, this same passion for wildlife, and now my passion for wildlife has evolved into photographing them and getting to experience, and capture, wildlife in their natural environment.
For a good few years now I have been photographing sunsets and basic landscapes using my phone camera, or a very old digital camera. It wasn’t until March 2020 (when Coronavirus hit the world) that I took inspiration from my older brother and decided to give wildlife photography a go — he has been photographing wildlife for a few years now.
So this is where the story begins…
Since March, last year, I have been taking wildlife photos on a Canon EOS 100D, with a F/4 75-300mm Canon lens — not the most grand kit by any means, but more than enough to get started and learn on, which I am very grateful for. I have learned a lot along the way: from recognising different species, to better understanding my camera settings, to being able to create better photos/compositions, and to better understand different animals behaviours, patterns, and habitats.
Today, I am very grateful for the opportunity to capture such magnificent wildlife, and to be able to experience wildlife so intimately in their natural habitats — and I can safely say that I have improved a ton since I started (pictures below for an example of my improvement!)
(The top picture is the oldest wildlife photo I still have saved, taken in August last year (2020), of a Long Tailed Tit. The bottom picture is one of my most recent shots, taken in March this year (2021), of a Long Tailed Tit collecting nesting materials.)
Here is why wildlife photography means so much to me, and why it has helped me so much in my personal journey of life.
For many years of my teenage/adolescence life, I have searched to find (what most would call) my purpose. I have circled back and forth through many hobbies and passions, trying to find the one that sticks — the one that brings me the most joy, fulfillment, and a strong sense of satisfaction.
I went from skateboarding, to writing articles about self-development & spirituality, to trying to grow a YouTube channel based on video games, to pushing my limits with cycling — none of which stuck, none of which gave me this same sense of joyous fulfillment and satisfaction that wildlife photography has. I would become heavily invested in those hobbies I mentioned above, but after a month or two, I would burn out and lose that spark I once felt. However, this has not happened once with my photography. Even on the bad days, when nothing goes right and I go home photo-less after a long day trip out, it doesnt put me off — instead, it creates a brand new fire of desire, of motivation, to get back out there tomorrow and succeed, which is something I never felt with my past passions.
Wildlife photography, for me, is like a burning fire of passion within, and one that, for the first time in all of my life, I can see myself doing for the next 50 years. It brings me joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, and a huge sense of purpose — in terms of it bringing me such joy, and with it being something I can see myself doing for the next 50 years. There is a burning desire to improve in my work with every shoot, and rather than put myself down for ‘not being the best,' or for ‘not achieving feats that other photographers have,’ I look to others work and accomplishments to push my own work further, to inspire me, to find new ways in which I can improve my own work — and ultimately find my own unique style. Which, as you might have guessed, never happened in past hobbies/passions.
This is why I feel it has helped my mental health condition, among other reasons too…
On those days where my mental health is ‘playing up,’ where I’m stuck in a rut or simply not coping the best, something about going out into nature, watching the wildlife, and taking photos helps to put me in the moment — and truthfully, nothing lifts me up more than capturing a photo that I am oh so ecstatic with. On many occasions I’ve gone out not feeling great at all, but after taking time in nature and getting a photo that I’m ecstatic with I get home with such an uplifted mood and mindset. The time in nature, observing the wildlife, the peace and quiet, really really helps put me into a place where I can think clearly and overcome any issues on that day — which has been a huge blessing for me.
In other hobbies, I was always looking at others work and becoming self-critical of myself — always comparing myself to others. Photography, strangely enough, has gave me much more confidence in myself and my own abilities. Rather than seeing work that is better than mine and beating myself up about it, I look to it for inspiration, to see where I have room for improvement. This in turn has massively boosted my own self-esteem and self-worth. I no longer see my work as a “failure" or as “no good" when things don’t go as planned, but instead I see my work as ever improving with an endless room for growth.
With ADHD, I also often find it hard to stay focused on one single task for too long , unless that task is something I am truly passion about and have a huge interest in — such as wildlife photography. The mixture of having something captivating in front of me (the wildlife), the peace and quiet (nature) and the passion of capturing the perfect moment, all tie in to gaining my full undivided attention — something that I’d struggle with in many of my other hobbies or just general aspects of life. This has really helped me narrow down my focus, and in my own personal experience it has helped to calm down my hyperactive tendencies — jumping from one task/hobby to the next, like a ping pong ball bouncing off the rackets.
In conclusion.
Wildlife photography has helped me tremendously in personal aspects of my life: from helping me to better cope and manage a mental health condition which I have struggled to find balance with for years, to giving me a sense of purpose and worth in life, bringing me immense amounts of joyous fulfillment, satisfaction, and pleasure. It is a passion of mine that I can see myself doing for the next 50+ years, and it is a passion of mine in which I strive to improve with every shot I take.
Wildlife photography has helped me in unimaginable ways, and on top of this all, I get to witness plenty of truly beautiful moments in nature and see all forms of gorgeous wildlife in their natural habitats — photography is a blessing that just keeps on giving.
In the future, I wish to keep posting my wildlife photography — hopefully, dreamingfully, one day I can work as a wildlife photographer for big platforms such as BBC Earth or National Geographic, but until then I will most definitely be pursuing my passion and simply having fun whilst doing so. I also aim, in the long run, to hopefully help new photographers with tips and advice on specific subjects; to inspire others dealing with mental health conditions to pursue their dreams and never give up; and finally, I hope to use my work (specifically my writing) to educate others about the wonders of the wildlife that we share our home with — Planet Earth.
Seeing as this is my first article/blog post, I wanted to start with a little back story so you could get to know me a little better and get an idea of what my work means to me. I will be aiming to release an article/blog post at least once a month (for the meantime) and these will vary from: my adventures and experience photographing a single subject; tips and tricks I have learned when it comes to finding and photographing a single subject; and just all things related to my wildlife photography journey!
If you wish to follow my photographic journey outside of these articles, and be the first to see any new shots I might have taken, then please feel free to check out my social media account:
www.instagram.com/KaneLeboutillier
I look forward to speaking with you in my next article. Thank you for your interest, and for reading my story,
Kane LeBoutillier.
Do you have a story of what photography means to you? Feel free to share it in the comments below. And as always, keep capturing those beautiful moments in life, happy snappers!
All photos included in this article are taken by myself, and are copyrighted. If anyone wishes to use my work then please feel free to message me on my social media before doing so. Kind regards.
